I have some things I want to get into, but I do think that making it very clear I think the violence is wrong is important.
I was just putting it at the top of the next post, but since it was kind of long, I thought I’d make it its own thing. So, here it is!
First, I think it’s important to state that I think unequivocally, violence is oh so RARELY the answer – only when it is pure self-defense. I don’t think laying your hands on someone as a ‘punishment,’ or ‘out of anger,’ or anything in that arena is justified. Ever.
So, even though I’m absolutely on the side of “the violent action was wrong,” I don’t think we need to vilify Will Smith for life. [But I am against the violent action, in case that’s not clear.]
[Also, violence is a spectrum, of course. Again, not trying to downplay what Will Smith did, but some people are acting like he shot Chris Rock and gave him serious injuries or something. Violence is wrong, And I know maybe the embarrassment of it (Chris getting slapped on such a visible stage) probably hurts worse than the physical injury. I do think emotional undertones are often worse than physical things themselves, for SURE.
I know I’d MUCH rather someone give one slap or punch than hurt me emotionally. So, since emotions are wrapped in there, I’m not saying he suffered no injuries, as some injuries aren’t visible. But still. There has to be a way to take what Chris Rock is going through seriously without acting like Will Smith shot a man in vital organs or something.]
And I’ll get into some more nuances about the whole thing tomorrow.